Nobody expected to see Savard on the ice again this season after getting knocked unconscious by Matt Cooke in Pittsburgh on March 7. The days and weeks that followed were troublesome for the Bruins and their fans, as scattered reports had Savard unable to leave his apartment, be exposed to sunlight or sleep properly. Things just weren't good.
A few weeks later, however, Savard started offering encouraging signs, both for the status of his health and his prospects of playing hockey again this spring. Though Savard sat out the clinching Game 6 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals, he made a triumphant return to the TD Garden in Game 1 against the Flyers.
He wasn't expected to get too much ice time, but that changed when winger Marco Sturm went down with torn knee ligaments on his opening shift. Savard stayed out of the spotlight for much of the game (save for a choke hold from Flyers friend Daniel Carcillo) until overtime. Then Savard scripted a story that even Hollywood wouldn't have bought.
With a delayed penalty coming on the Flyers, a puck flew out of midair and twirled on its edge at Savard's feet. While he's known more for his passing than his scoring, his slapper from the faceoff dot is always deadly, and on this day, it was destined to find the net.
"People are saying you couldn’t have scripted it any better, and I think it was nice to see him get that," Claude Julien said after the 5-4 win. "It’s a great way to come back in the lineup."
Savard's been a contributor since then, too, picking up an assist in Game 3 to go with a plus-2 rating. His play was a solid sign that he's getting back to normal, and so was his 18 minutes on the ice.
With David Krejci out for the remainder of the postseason, Savard will be relied upon even more. All signs indicate that won't be a problem.
